The present invention relates generally to an apparatus for loading a product into a like-shaped container and more particularly to an apparatus f or loading frozen or refrigerated cylindrical pieces of dough into cylindrical containers.
Consumers enjoy eating home-baked cookies and other baked products, but consumers do not want to spend the time required to select a recipe, assemble the ingredients, and mix the ingredients together in the manner specified in the recipe. The food industry has developed many ready-to-bake products that eliminate the time consuming steps in preparing the dough. One such conventional ready-to-bake cookie dough has the following composition:
______________________________________ Conventional Cookie Dough Composition Ingredient Weight Percent ______________________________________ sugar 24.319 flour 28.389 soda 0.490 salt 0.490 egg yolk solids 0.786 albumen 0.890 enrichment 0.004 shortening 13.879 oil 1.542 Water 10.302 molasses 2.140 vanilla 0.103 candy pieces 16.666 100.000 ______________________________________
The dough is maintained at a temperature of about 40 degrees Fahrenheit and is extruded into a rope-shape. The rope is cut into individual portions. Then, the outer layers of the dough are frozen by known means such as a liquid nitrogen freezer. The frozen surface of the dough is less tacky than at refrigeration temperatures, and therefore the dough is easier to handle. However, the dough cannot be completely frozen because it becomes brittle and splits. Although the frozen surfaces are less tacky than the refrigerated dough surfaces, the frozen surfaces do not slide easily over smooth surfaces. There are currently no publicly known methods for packaging prepared refrigerated dough into cylindrical containers.
Refrigerated dough products are typically packaged in spiral wound composite cans such as the can configuration shown in McDilda et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,084,284 issued Jan. 28, 1992 and assigned to the Pillsbury Company of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The dough products can also be packaged in metallic cans such as aluminum or tin cans, or in plastic containers.
In each instance, there is no known device for inserting cylindrical shaped objects having tacky surfaces into a cylindrically shaped can such as one or more of the containers described above.